During a media briefing on Wednesday morning, the Minister of Health, Dr. Joe Phaahla, sadly announced that a patient at Tembisa Hospital has passed away from monkeypox. According to Dr. Phaahla, a total of five cases of monkeypox have been recorded in South Africa so far.
Two of these cases were confirmed in Gauteng and three in KwaZulu-Natal. The death that occurred is among the two cases reported in Gauteng,” he said.
The patient passed on Monday in Tembisa Hospital. All cases/patients are males aged between 30 to 39 years without travel history to the countries currently experiencing an outbreak, which suggests there is local transmission of this infectious disease in the country.
He said all the five cases were classified as severe cases as per WHO definition requiring hospitalisation.
The cases have co-morbidities and have been identified as key populations, men who have sex with men. Thus, the department is reaching out to organisations working on HIV programmes and with key populations in addition to other stakeholders to implement targeted communication to intensify awareness about the outbreak and local transmission of the disease.
Phaahla revealed that one patient has been released, while another has been discharged for home isolation with follow-ups currently being conducted. Additionally, two others are still hospitalized. He elaborated that Mpox is a viral infection that transmits between individuals and occasionally from the environment to people through objects and surfaces that have been touched by an individual with Mpox. Phaahla urged individuals who may have come into contact with someone with the disease and are also experiencing symptoms of skin lesions and rashes to seek assistance at their nearest healthcare facilities.
